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DFA backs Liz Watson for U.S. House in Indiana’s 9th Congressional District

May 17, 2018 - 12:24 pm

Democracy for America (DFA) today endorsed Liz Watson in her effort to defeat fringe right Republican Trey Hollingsworth and become Indiana’s 9th Congressional District’s next member of Congress.

DFA Chair Jim Dean on the grassroots progressive organization’s decision to strongly back Liz Watson in her general election fight:

“Democracy for America could not be more thrilled to endorsed Liz Watson for Congress because she’s building a campaign rooted in progressive values and backed by the kind of broad-based coalition of progressive and working-class supporters it takes to win in Southern Indiana.

“By building a campaign focused on Medicare for All, raising wages, and making prescription drugs more affordable, Liz Watson is not only running on the inclusive populist priorities that are critical to supporting working families in Indiana’s 9th district, she’s showing other Democrats across the country that we win when we stand up and run fearlessly on our shared progressive values.” -- Jim Dean, Chair, Democracy for America

DFA has 35,004 members in the state of Indiana and more than one million members nationwide.

As a part of its work in the 2018 election cycle, DFA intends to raise and spend more than $12 million in support of progressive candidates, make more than 2 million voter contacts, and support more than 250 candidates nationwide -- like Liz Watson -- in running inclusive populist campaigns committed to turning out the New American Majority of people of color and progressive white voters in November.

Liz Watson on receiving DFA’s endorsement in her race for Congress:

"I'm honored to receive this endorsement from Democracy for America. We are building a grassroots, people-powered movement in southern Indiana to take back our district from a carpetbagger from Tennessee who is using Congress as his own personal cash register. Our Congressman is a multimillionaire who bought his seat in Congress, and as his reward, gave himself a $4.5 million tax cut by passing the tax scam. Hoosiers have had enough of politicians who line their own pockets instead of investing in their communities.

“Hundreds of volunteers with our campaign have knocked thousands of doors as part of our Knock Every Door campaign to reach out to our friends and neighbors about getting the representation we deserve. We've crisscrossed our district holding town halls to hear from voters about the issues that matter most. We are organizing in our communities, one neighborhood at a time -- around kitchen tables, in coffee shops, in senior centers, and everywhere in between.

“I'm so proud to partner with Democracy for America, an organization that builds grassroots, progressive movement for change. It's time for Congress to start listening to us, instead of to their wealthy donors. I want to go to Congress to fight for an Indiana that works for every single one of us -- for Medicare for All, funding for treatment for the opioid crisis that is tearing families apart, to protect our public schools from privatization and for living wage jobs, and investments in infrastructure and training that will help hardworking Hoosiers finally get ahead." -- Liz Watson

Liz Watson is a working mom and a workers' rights attorney. She's a fifth-generation Hoosier who is sick and tired of hardworking Indiana families struggling to keep their heads above water in today's economy. Throughout her career, Liz has fought for working families to get their fair share, and she's fought back against a rigged system that works only for the wealthy and well-connected. From representing working people in low-wage jobs who were cheated out of their paychecks to serving in Congress as the Labor Policy Director for the House Democrats, Liz has fought to rewrite the rules of our economy so that they work for the people who actually do the work. She led the staff team that developed the $15 minimum wage bill in the House, fought for legislation to strengthen organizing protections so that working people would have the freedom to come together to fight for their fair share, and worked on legislation championed by Senator Warren to end unpredictable schedules in low-wage jobs that leave families living paycheck to paycheck.

Democracy for America is a member-driven, people-powered progressive PAC with more than one million members nationwide committed to taking on income inequality, money in politics, and structural racism. Since its 2004 founding, DFA members have raised and contributed more than $54 million and made more than 21.9 million volunteer calls to help successfully elect 917 progressive candidates nationwide.

That episode and others offered clues to how Ocasio-Cortez and her social media practices fit into a national legislature that’s slowly becoming younger, less male and more diverse. The approach Ocasio-Cortez is modeling — and the political world is studying — gives her a measure of control by communicating directly with constituents and responding to critics in close to real time.

“She knows how to navigate this space in a way that others don’t,” said Yvette Simpson, incoming CEO of Democracy for America, a progressive political action committee. Also, Simpson pointed out, “She’s not accountable to that power structure” in Congress. “She’s accountable to the group that put her there.”